Marking device for ropes.



- M. C. DODGE;

MARKING DEVICE FOR HOPES. APPLICATION FILED MAYT. 191a.

Patented Oct. 22, 1918.

- To all whom it may concern-i rm TED srarrss run" caries,

MILO G. DODGE, OF PLYMOUTH, MASSAGE COMPANY, OF PLYMOUTH, MABSACHUSE MARKING nnvmn ii-on ,nornsQ Patented Be it known that I, MILO 0. Down, a citizen of the United States, residing at Plymouth, in the county of Plyinouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Marking Devices for Ropes, of which the follovving is a.v

specification.

This invention relates to marking devices for ropes.

Hitherto no satisfactory means hasbeen known, so far as I am aware, for marking the name of the maker, the date or quality orother information upon rope in any per manent fashion. Hope is ordinarily marked by manufacturers with a suitable label on the'burlap or other casing which enwraps the coil and by a tag on the burlap or on the coil; but when these have been removed there is nothin to identify the maker with certainty. E orts in that direction have been made, b making one or more of strands of a istinctive color, butthe number of'possihle colors is limited; decisions of the courts have made the validity ofsuch a scheme uncertain, when attein ted to be used as a trade mark; and the in ormation that canbe conveyed by the color of a strand is obviously exceedingly limited. The difficulties arise from the characteristicsthat are inherent in rope itself; among which are' its peculiar shape; the normally un- I printe wo 'no 40 porated i and of various p as the rope even character of its exterior surface so that it Will not take printing easily or economically i and the-wear or abrasion that comes on a1 arts of its exterior so that anything is an object of the present in 'vention to provide means by which. any dc sired mark or information canbe incorpermanentl even after a-rope t as sub ect to abrasion has received long and hard usage, tliename of the maker, the rated qualit the process by which made, the date or p ace of manu' facture, or any other matter which the maker desires to have preserved may be reserved in connection with therope so ong teristic of ropes that they are ieces, for various purposes en hsthat are not known is a char often cut ,r'utol ce, it is a rther-obi'ect to provide g u so at this informaticnshal exist in any part of the rope, It is another object to the or asted on the outside is quicklya 2 ii in the rope, .so that itself endures. Inasmuch as 11' Specification of'Letters Application filed Kay 1, 1913.- Serial at 786,035.

ing severed usnrn'sijjhssiei oa-ro runes-r1: confines ma, com-cannon or uassmnqsmrs,

ntent.

provide such means ina manner that is capable/of use by many different manufacturers simultaneously, or of usefor different purposes by the same manufacturer, instead of 1ts possibilities beingexhausted when used byone particular maker or when used to signify one, particular thing,'as in the case of the use of a colored strand. l

The objects of' the invention are, accomplished by combining a peculiar. tag, or whatever the marking device he called, with the strands of the; rope in a position where it is surrounded and protected by thebody and substance of the rope, and et doesnot interfere in any res t with t a utility of the re e. Informt e marker is anattenne i ated at strip of material, laid, longitudi-' nally throughthe interior of the rope. Inasmuch -as'this is not subject to wear,- and is not extpected'to serve the functions-of 8;

art of e rope,as are thestran'ds which" ave hitherto been made ofparticular colors,

it does not need to be of material having any articular migth, and itmay be of aper o constru 'it takes l u practi y; no

room, adds practically not ingto thecost" or weight of the rope, and yet aflo'rdma" flat an continuous surface on. which' any.

-' desired data may beprinted, or which may convey the desiredinformation by its own texture, material, color or other character.-

istic, or byits mere presencez r n An embodiment of the invention is illustrated "in the accompanyingdrawmgs, 1n 4 side elevation ofaportion "of whicha Figure 1 is a re a;

on the line 2+2 of Fig- 1; and

Fig. 3 'shows a portionof-the marker. 1; In the draw ngs, the numerals 10, .10, 10

indicate thethree strands which, when laid or twlsted together, make-u .the rope'as a" 4 whole, The marker 11 is a at," thin'strip of material which, in thefinished rope; liesin the interior of one of the strands.-

Its poig- 2 is a transverse section ofthe same i sition is seen in" the transverse section Fig. 2,

where it is also seen that this marker is surrounded by the threads 12 that compose] the v.strand'. longitudinall of the strand, instead of circlmg spiral y or helically around the strand as the threads-12 do." Tins is clearly seen "at the right v Where several of the'threads a'rerepreaen as be and turned up. In the We: 1 1v of the strand thus opened, the marker strip 11 is seen extending centrally through the strand 1 in the, longitudinal direction of the, strand; The. difference" between the di- 5 r'ec't'ion of thism arker 11 and of the threads 12 that compose the rope is clearly manifest.

: is'thusprotected from abrasion by' theinfluences thatwear the threads on the surface of the rope when in use.

.10 This marker may be incorporated in the rope at the time of its manufacture by running it into the strand beside or on the surface of the core or central thread 12 of the strand, by machinery similar to that which 15"would be used for running in a central thread. In either case noseparate manu- I facturmg OPQIiItIOIIiS required. The introduction of the marker thus adds nothing to. f "the cost of the rope, except the, cost of the -=n'1arker"itselt. And it may be introduced in i this manner into any kind of rope or cordagei whether of the specific structure illus ""trat'ed or otherwise, and whether made with 3 a greater or smaller number of threads per strand, or of strands, and with or-without I fa'core, or otherwise.

- The structure of the marker itself may vary greatly, but is to be distinguished from those case s'where marking is attempted by the coloring of one of the component strands of the rope. The marker now being described 'is in the nature of an attemiated I :"ibody introduced into the interior of the rope, protected thereby and having its own peculiarstatus therein, independently of the ma'te'rial that regularly eonstitutesthe rope. fBe'cause" of this independence it requires 'n'actieall-y no strength in itself. Being collapsible transversely, it can have any de- 40sired/configuration, the form shown having straight parallel edges. It can conform in F shapeto the space which it finds available betwecn its surrounding threads. *not materially affect the exterior form or +the correctness ofthe internal structure of a I" rt NVhIIe a frail fiat su'rfaced substance such "as'paper. is suggested as a possibility for the materialof this marker, thus illustrating that itis nota partof therope, and is not fio the same as mere printing upon one of the strands ofthe rope, nevertheless the inventionis not limited to that, and stronger material may be used if desired.

Fig. 3 illustrates the shape which the marker may have, whatever its material, and

by glue, sizing, or the like.

It does' Such matter may be re pliant tape, independent of the strain bearfurther illustrates the structure of a marker, not made of paper but which is considered advantageous. This consists of a number of fine threads 13, laid parallel to each other without interweaving, and held to each other\ Fifteen or f twenty or more of such threads 13, of cotton or any other flexible and inexpensive material may be printed as desired, while thus i'nsecurely fastened together side by side, and then introduced into the rope as a marker as above described. The insecurity of the'fasteni'ng'of the parallel threads 13' to each other enables this tape to split longitudinally when laid in the rope, wherever so such splitting happens to accommodate the internal structure of the rope. This carries to a high "degree the characteristic above mentioned of non-interference with the correct form and structure of the rope. the same time whenever astrand containing -the marker is unraveled, these originally parallel threads 13 can be brought back into proximity, however 'much they may have been separated from each other in the strand, and the printing'thereon will then be legible. Such a marker adds'no'appreciable amount to the weight of the rope, and if made of. paper it contributes nothing to its strength.

Inasmuch, therefore, as it is not relied upon as a strength giving part of the rope the component materials of the marker and their internal structure or arrangement relative to each other, may be varied greatly as may best serve economyor convenience, or as may serve to convey informationv by mere difi'erence of material or internal structure. If made of the parallel-thread components above described it may or may not contribute some strength, depending on the strength of its threads, but such contributionis only ineidcntal. the marker not being a part of the regular rope structure. The" discrepancy in size which may ordinarily exist between it and'the regular threads 12 that make up the strands that compose the -rope is clearly ma'nit'est in Fig. 2, where the marker shows in cross section as a mere short line,- While the strand threads are circlesof appreciable size.

It will be seen that the rope thus embodying the marker is self-identifying, the marker described being of thin, flat and ing elements of the rope, extending substantially parallel to them throughout the length of the rope and wholly within its boundaries without displacing them relatively to each other in such manner as to effect either their normal strength ,or the operation of the whole as a rope. a

. Under ordinary circumstances the presence of this markerin the rope is not evi-- dent, because the marker normally does not come to the surface, and is covered by the .rope materials that surround it. Its presence ma be discovered at any time, however, an data borne upon it read,by unlaying the rope and untwistin the strand in w ich it is, either at the on of the rope or elsewhere.

In conducting business as a manufacturer of rope it may be of considerablevalue to formula.

know with certainty the usual behavior. for example, of a-particular grade or growth of hemp, or of steel made by a particular Special individual tests can be made of selected ropes, but no method has hitherto been known by which the performance of the general output of such ropes in I the hands of consumers vthroughout the country can be compared withthat of other ropes, of the samegeneral sort, because of i the impossibility of pursuing a large number of individual ropes through the market into the hands of consumers and getting reports thereon. By the aid of the present invention, hovvever, the obtaining of such average results is made possible. A manufacturer who uses the invention lac-designate in each rope any particular data regarding the materials of the rope, or the machine or process by whlch it was made, etc.; can subsequently collect samples of used ropes from customers at large, and by means of the marks pre served therein by the invention can identify them and thus get definite information of results attained under the conditions of actual A fund of experience, and of definite knowledge as to behavior of the product,

- may thus be accumulated which might be a matter of conslderable aid to advancement Signed by me at Boston, Mass, this thirtieth day of April, 1913.

' MILO C. DODGE.

Witnesses:

EVERETT E; KENT, ANNA B. LINDSAY. 

